


Firebird

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Gratsu Bingo 2019 [8]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Animal Transformation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fear, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Magic, Magical Accidents, Missions Gone Wrong, Promises, running out of time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-06-29 03:16:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19821418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: 'Up close, Natsu was even more stunning, streaks of gold mixed in with the orange and red, catching the light as he shifted to catch his balance. A golden crest rising from the middle of his head and curling down the long neck. “Maybe I should keep you like this; you make a rather pretty… OW!” Gray yelped as the sharp, hooked beak closed on the finger he had lifted to stoke Natsu’s head. “Why, you….”  His scolding words came to an abrupt halt as he realised that Natsu had hunkered in on himself, feathers fluffed up, looking the very picture of avian misery. 'Natsu touches something he shouldn't, and they find themselves in a race against time to end the spell before the transformation becomes permanent.





	1. Transformation

Gray was grumbling under his breath as they made their way into the storage room that their employee had directed them towards, watching as Natsu nearly knocked down the doors in his eagerness to see what was inside. _Next time I’m reading the flyer first,_ the Ice Mage thought darkly, wondering if Natsu had decided not to warn him that the reward wasn’t jewels but ‘magical items’, before dismissing it. The Dragon-slayer had come a long way from the days when he could barely read what was on a job flyer, but apart from when he was genuinely desperate for jewels, he rarely paid to much attention to that part of the information, more interested in finding out what he was going to fight. So, he had probably glanced at it and completely forgotten, and Gray had been too distracted by the fact that they finally getting to go on a job without the others for the first time in months to bother to check it himself.

Which meant that he couldn’t growl at Natsu. Which was probably a good thing, because the idiot looked like a child in a toyshop as he followed him into the room, which was a lot larger than he had been expecting. “No wonder he ended up with cursed items,” Gray murmured, glancing around at the messy piles of crates behind much more organised bookcases. There was a wealth of magical artefacts and items in here, and not for the first time he wondered why a mage with such limited power needed so many things – and how they had kept this collection hidden for so long. Maybe he would ask on the way out. Still, it looked like they stood a chance of getting something decent out of this after all, either something they could use, or sell for a decent number of jewels, and Natsu was grinning, practically bouncing from shelf to shelf as he peered at the items on them. Shaking his head, and smiling at the display, he moved into the room, trailing after Natsu even as he tried to find something that caught his eyes.

Lucy and Levy would love it in here, he thought, eyeing up a heavy bookcase full of books, unsurprised when Natsu spared it only a passing glance. Erza’s rigorous teaching methods had left Natsu with a healthy respect for them, but no real love for reading. However, Gray couldn’t stop himself from moving across to scan the titles, although he was careful not to touch, unable to forget the incident a few years ago when a cursed book had slipped in amongst a pile for the library, putting anyone that tried to read it to sleep. Levy, Mira and a couple of others had fallen prey before Makarov had worked out what was happening, and allowed Natsu to burn it to cinders, destroying the enchantment once and for all.

He kept half an ear open for Natsu, hearing the Dragon-slayer rummaging around behind him, but soon he was lost in his own search. There were some interesting books here, and he knew that the guild would kill to have on hand and that Levy would probably kill for just a chance to look at.

“Look at this!” Natsu called, and Gray was turning to see what his boyfriend had spotted when the silvery text on the spine of one of the books caught his attention – ‘ _The Art of Making’_. It was rare to find books about maker magic, as it was more practical based, and he could only remember one tatty tome on Ur’s bookshelf, and despite his earlier concerns, he found himself reaching for the book. However, he had barely brushed the edge of the spine, where there was a startled shout from behind him and the sound of something falling, and Gray immediately twisted around, only to find the rest of the room obscured in a strange orange fog.

“Natsu!” He shouted around the hand that he had instinctively thrown up to cover his mouth, trying to find a glimpse of Natsu through the fog. “Oi! Flamebrain!” The fog was curling around him now, and he wrinkled his nose at the smell. It was almost like the scent of Natsu’s magic, but wrong somehow, acrider, like the smoke that poured from natural flames. “NATSU! ANSWER ME!” There was nothing, and the fog was making things impossible, so he straightened, hoping that their employer would forgive him for this as he brought his hands firmly together, the familiar feeling of his ice helping to settle him, as it spread around his hands before shooting out towards where he hoped one of the emptier walls were.

The ice crashed through shelves and items, and he winced as he heard several fragile things land on the ground and smash. But then it burst through the wall, sending bricks tumbling outwards, and sending dust across the room, making him cough and splutter even more than the fog had. Thankfully, the hole had done what he had been aiming for, sucking the fog out of it and into the rooms beyond. Keeping his mouth covered, he turned towards where he had last heard Natsu, just as he saw a flash of orange and red out of the corner of his eye, immediately throwing his other arm up to protect himself, bracing himself for flames.

Instead, he was greeted by the fluttering of wings.

His arms fell to the side, as his mouth fell open, torn between shocked dismay and awe as he took in the magnificent bird that was now perched awkwardly on the edge of one of the shelves. It was too big to fit on the shelf properly, at least Happy’s size if not a bit bigger, with a long, graceful tail that reminded him of some of the tropical birds they had seen at Caracole Island. The feathers were a bright tangerine, with reddish highlights, and when it shifted, fluttering its wings to maintain its balance, flickers of flame danced across them.

That got his attention and reminded him of what he was looking for, and he scanned the room for some sign of Natsu, only to find no trace of the Dragon-slayer. Wisps of the fog still lingered, and there was the mess that his ice had created, and there, beneath where the bird was perched was what looked to be a shattered orb, the glass shards the same colour as the creature. “N-Natsu?” His voice cracked midway because this couldn’t be happening.

If a bird could look sheepish, then the one in front of him did, ducking its head and releasing a mournful trill. Gray closed his eyes, counted to ten and them opened them again, somehow hoping for either a different answer, or for something to have changed, but the bird was still there, watching him with bright, beady eyes that were far too human. “You idiot,” he growled, worry making it harsher than he’d intended, and the bird squawked at him, clearly trying to retort and it was such a Natsu sound and movement that he froze. “Well at least you remember who you are,” he added, more softly this time, glad that he wasn’t going to have to chase a frenzied, frightened bird around the storage room. It didn’t really help much, but it was something, and right now as he watched Natsu flapping his wings in frustration, nearly falling off the edge of the shelf in the process, he decided that he would take it.

He moved across to Natsu who was watching him warily, head tilted to the side, trilling in question as the Ice Mage reached him and held out a hand. “If you think that I’m going to trust you to fly around in here, you’re more stupid than I thought. God knows what else you would break.” Gray had no idea how to fix this, hoping that the owner would know which particular item the Dragon-slayer had managed to fall foul of. And that he would be willing to help after the destruction that Gray had caused to his collection. That was too many what-ifs for Gray’s liking, and he thrust his arm out towards Natsu who hadn’t moved after his words. “Come on, we need to find out how to fix this mess.” That got him another mournful trill, and then Natsu clumsily hopped and fluttered down onto his arm, mindful of his talons as he gripped him, and Gray released a breath he hadn’t realised that he was holding when the flames that still danced across the feathers at intervals didn’t burn his skin.

Up close, Natsu was even more stunning, streaks of gold mixed in with the orange and red, catching the light as he shifted to catch his balance. A golden crest rising from the middle of his head and curling down the long neck. “Maybe I should keep you like this; you make a rather pretty… OW!” Gray yelped as the sharp, hooked beak closed on the finger he had lifted to stoke Natsu’s head. “Why, you….” His scolding words came to an abrupt halt as he realised that Natsu had hunkered in on himself, feathers fluffed up, looking the very picture of avian misery. It was almost as bad as seeing the Dragon-slayer huddled in on himself by the river as a child, and the Ice Mage immediately sighed. “Sorry.” That earned him the release of his finger, and Natsu didn’t try anything this time as he reached up to scratch his head, even leaning into the touch, and making a strange, crooning noise in the back of his throat. Gray didn’t comment on it this time, continuing to scratch him as he headed for the door, soothing Natsu when he fluttered nervously at the movement. “I’m not going to drop you.”

*

Eventually, they settled on a compromise, Natsu hopping up to sit on his shoulder where he clearly felt more secure, and there was less danger of him injuring Gray with his talons. It also helped that he could bury his beak in Gray’s hair, hiding himself from what was happening. Gray let him, not sure he would be any better if their positions were reversed, and more interested in retracing his steps back to the opulent office they had been in half an hour before. It took him longer than he cared to admit, and in the end, it was Natsu nibbling his ear as he was about to turn down the wrong corridor that stopped him from losing his way again, and it didn’t take him long to find the ornately carved door. He knocked briefly but didn’t bother waiting for an answer before stepping inside.

“So, you found it…” Gray came up short at the words, and the strange voice. It was the same person, all willowy limbs and pale skin, in robes that looked like they belonged in a fancy dress shop, but whereas before he had barely been able to look at them. And had spoken so quietly that Gray had been relying on the Dragon-slayer’s hearing to make sure they didn’t miss anything, he was now stood tall by his desk and staring at the two of them.

No, staring at Natsu…

Gray shivered at the look in his eyes. It reminded him too much of how Zeref had looked at Natsu at times, covetous, and seeing only the prize, not the person. Natsu had apparently noticed too, trilling loudly, his talons tightening on Gray’s shoulder, as the flames dancing over his feathers seemed to intensify. “What do you mean?” Gray lifted a hand, letting it rest on Natsu, not wanting the hothead to forget that he couldn’t just punch the man this time, wincing as his ear rang under the assault of the Natsu’s trills.

“You don’t even know what you have there, do you?”

“It’s Natsu.”

“It was Natsu Dragneel,” the man countered, and Gray tensed, not liking the way he had dismissed Natsu as though the Dragon-slayer was already gone. “Now, it is one of the rarest magical birds in the world, one that no other mage has in their collection…”

The clues had already been adding up in the back of Gray’s mind, but at those words, understanding dawned, and his lips drew back in a snarl. “Not a chance!” Natsu trilling his agreement, making the Ice Mage wince as he danced up and down on his shoulder, and the warmth of his flames was growing now, making Gray want to pull away. But he wasn’t going to go anywhere, not with those hungry eyes feasted on Natsu. “And he’s still Natsu! He still thinks and feels, and…”

“Not for much longer,” the mage was smiling now, and it was the kind of smile that had dread pooling in Gray’s stomach, and he found himself shrinking back a few steps. “Once the transformed Phoenix undergoes their first burning day, the spell becomes permanent.” He recited. “Those pesky sparks of humanity will start to fade the closer he gets, and once he’s had a burning day, he will be nothing more than a magical bird.”

“You’re lying!” It was desperate, and Gray wasn’t surprised when it didn’t get a response. _I can’t lose him to this._ It was clear he wasn’t going to get the answers he needed here, which meant that he needed to get Natsu back to the guild as soon as possible and hope that someone there would know how to reverse the transformation before Natsu had a burning day. _What the hell is a burning day?_ He wondered, glancing at Natsu and the flames already wreathed around him.

_And how long do we have…?_

“Enough of this nonsense,” the man was moving, and whereas Gray had only felt the faintest of magical pressures from him earlier when he had been ‘helping’ with the cursed items, now it came from him in waves, and his eyes narrowed. This was no coincidence.

“Why us?” He demanded, even as he edged backwards towards the door, not wanting to fight all out with Natsu perched on his shoulder and knowing that the idiot would leave him and escape, even if he was the target. “Why him?” Because now that he thought about it, the mage had watched Natsu earlier too, but Gray had dismissed it, thinking that maybe he had heard about how destructive the Fire Mage could be and worrying about what he might do to his collection.

“My father had that orb for decades.” The door slammed shut behind them, and Gray glanced at it, seeing the swirl of runes around the handle, knowing that it wouldn’t yield to brute force. “But it takes Lost Magic to trigger, and he spent a lifetime searching and searching for something to use, but nothing worked. I had rumours of the Salamander and his magic, but my father dismissed it, refusing to use another person.”

“So, why…?”

“I don’t share his reservations, and the orb passed to me,” the mage shrugged, and then straightened and held out a hand. “Now, please hand the creature over before this gets unnecessarily messy.” It was clearly not an idle threat, magic beginning to build around him again. But there was no way that Gray was going to hand Natsu over, and his eyes swept across the room, before landing on the windows on the far side.

“That’s not happening,” he informed him softly, before throwing himself to the left, ignoring Natsu’s shrieking protest as he brought his hands together. “ICE MAKE: LANCE!” The ice lanced out towards the windows, and the glass didn’t stand a chance, shattering violently outwards and letting a breeze flood the room. “Natsu, go!” He shouted, just as runes appeared around his wrists, glittering gold for a second before he found himself being yanked back against the wall and held in place. Natsu took to the air, fluttering wildly and screeching at the top of his lungs, eyes locked on their attacker as the flames built around him. “Natsu don’t, just go!” Gray knew that his words were futile, there was no way either of them would ever leave the other behind, but that didn’t make it an easier for him to see Natsu shake his head before diving at the mage.

The man cursed and ducked, hair alight as Natsu passed just above his head. But his magic was swelling again, rising in tendrils of golden runes around him and Gray who had been working to free himself from the runes, through himself forward with fresh desperation. “NATSU!” It was a cage. A gilded cage that was slowly falling into place around him, and Natsu was turning back and forth as he also realised what was happening, but it had already reached up to the ceiling, and he was trilling and panicking now. “LET HIM GO! NATSU!” Black spread across his skin, creeping past the runes around his right wrist which flickered, froze and shattered, and gritting his teeth against the discomfort the marking caused he sent it up his other arm too. He nearly fell over as the bonds broke, catching himself as he lunged forward.

The tendrils burned as he grabbed them, a sickening pain that lanced through his hands and up his arms, but he didn’t let go. Pale, purplish ice spreading up the tendrils. The magic tried to resist him, glowing fiercely, but it wasn’t enough, and as soon as his ice was halfway to the top, Gray let go, spinning around and kicking the frozen tendrils, shattering them. The broken magic, dissipating in a shower of golden sparks. Natsu immediately shot out from in them, trilling loudly and Gray thought that maybe he had finally realised how significant a disadvantage he was at, and was going to listen to him for once. Movement out of the corner of his eye distracting him, and he flung up a shield just as the mage flung out his hand, deflecting the beam just in time.

Gray was shifting his hands to another position, ready to cover Natsu’s escape when there was a burst of warm air above his head, and he felt himself being jerked backwards. Panicking, and thinking he was under attack, he lashed out, only to hear Natsu screech in pain as his hit connected, pecking his head in retaliation. There was an apology on the tip of his tongue, but it was forgotten as he realised that Natsu had his talons buried deeply in the material of his coat and was lifting him, dragging him towards the window. “Natsu, you can’t….”

But he could.

Natsu’s wings were beating strongly, but he didn’t seem fazed by Gray’s weight as he shot across the room, leaving Gray with no choice but to focus on their defence as the mage moved to block their escape. The last shield going up a split second too late, as he felt in his side, as the spell bit deeply into his side and he felt the warmth of blood bubbling up. But it was the least of his concerns because then they were out of the window, and there was nothing but open air beneath their feet. Natsu’s triumphant cry above him helped calm him a little, but it didn’t ease the dread that had wormed itself inside and the knowledge that they were running out of time.


	2. Flight

Under any other circumstances, Gray would have been delighted to have the chance to fly with Natsu. It wasn’t something that he had ever admitted to his boyfriend, but there had been a time when they were younger, and Happy had just grown big and strong enough to fly with the Dragon-slayer that he had been terrified of being left behind. Especially when he’d seen how much Natsu enjoyed being able to fly with his partner. Not that Gray could blame him, especially with how other modes of transport reduced him to a quivering wreck, but still, he’d always felt a strange, unspeakable fear when he’d watched the pair take flight. It wasn’t until much later, and once they’d finally admitted how they felt, that he’d realised it was because some part of him had been terrified that Natsu was going to just fly away and never come back.

That he would be left behind.

So, to be the one in the air with Natsu for once was something he wished that he could savour. However, as exhilarating as it was to look down and see the world passing beneath his feet, he couldn’t find any real enjoyment in it. Some of it had to do with the pain in his side, which was slowly growing as the minutes crept by, and although he’d managed to form some ice over it to stop the bleeding, he knew that he needed to take a proper look at it soon. However, that was only a mild concern – although he was reasonably sure that Natsu would disagree, not sure whether his partner had realised he’d been caught in that last moment. No, the reason why he couldn’t enjoy this impromptu flight, was what the mage had said about Natsu’s unexpected transformation, the words, and the hungry glee at the prospect of Natsu losing all traces of himself, replaying on repeat in his mind and leaving him feeling sick to his stomach.

_I can’t lose him to this…_

He wasn’t sure just how much of that Natsu had processed, as the Phoenix seemed utterly focused on flying and maintaining its tight grip on him. However, that didn’t mean anything. Natsu had a bad habit of focusing on anything but the threat to himself when things went wrong, especially when Gray was involved, and to be fair right now Gray couldn’t blame him for that. How must it feel to be trapped in a body that wasn’t your own? And then to learn that it had been a trap all along and that it might become permanent? Gray was freaking out just at the thought of it happening to Natsu, so to be the one facing that had to be a thousand times worse, and he grimaced, knowing that this wasn’t something that he could make better by just being there with Natsu. Which wasn’t reassuring. He didn’t have a clue how they were going to fix this, and if he didn’t even know how to comfort his boyfriend, then what chance did they have.

His thoughts were threatening to circle around the subject again, having nothing else to focus on until they could get back to the others and try and find some answers when he found himself dipping downwards suddenly. No, not just him, he realised belatedly. Natsu was still holding on to him just as tightly, talons just shy of breaking through his skin, but the steady rhythm he’d been maintaining until now was faltering and becoming more laboured.

“Natsu, we need to land!” He shouted, not sure if the words would even reach Natsu over the rush of air, and there was a delay between his shout and Natsu beginning to deliberate spiral down towards the ground that left him wondering if he had been heard or if the Dragon-slayer had realised that stubbornness wasn’t going to be enough this time. Either way, Gray was relieved to see the ground coming closer, as the beating of Natsu’s wings grew more and more laboured, strange muscles unable to cope with the strain that was being put on them, and the Ice Mage winced, not wanting to imagine what that would feel like when Natsu turned back to normal. _If,_ he thought, unable to keep the doubts out of his thoughts, although there was no way he was going to voice that thought aloud.

They were about twenty foot off the ground, when Natsu’s strength seemed to fail him completely, what had become a slow, laboured rhythm, turning to frenzied flapping as he tried to keep them both in the air. However, Gray had realised that it was a losing fight, and even before Natsu’s grip on him slipped he had brought his hands together, ice rushing up to meet him, as he created a slide to take him down to the ground. Realising this Natsu stopped fighting to hold on to him, and instead tried to steady himself, but it was too late, and with a startled shriek, he fluttered into the ice slide, steam rising from where his hot body connected with it. Still, it was apparently preferable to falling from that height, as he clumsily tucked his wings, and slid the last of the way to the ground, landing beside Gray in a heap of feathers.

Gray bit his lip, fighting back a sudden bubble of laughter, as the Phoenix that appeared so regal before was now trilling under its breath as it wobbled up on two legs, fluttering and fluffing its ruffled feathers, before looking up at him. If Phoenix’s could blush or scowl, Gray was sure that Natsu would be doing both right now. “I think that we’re going to work on the landings,” he settled for muttering, still earning himself an indignant glare from Natsu, as he started to push himself up, knowing that it probably wasn’t a good idea to sit around in the middle of nowhere. Especially as they had no idea if they were being pursued or not.

However, moving proved to be much simpler thought than done, as his side roared to life as he tried to stagger upright, and he couldn’t muffle his groan, a hand flying to his side as he doubled over. Cursing as he realised that the ice was beginning to melt. He was just about to reapply it, knowing that there wasn’t much they could do out here, when Natsu screeched at him, wings spread as he hopped over, craning his head to try and get a look at the wound. It was such a Natsu-like action that some of the knot of fear in Gray’s chest loosened. _He’s still him. He’s still Natsu._ He clung to that, and it made it much easier for him to smile at the agitated bird. “It’s nothing, just a scratch.” He should have known that wasn’t going to get him anywhere with Natsu, but he had been hoping that just for once the idiot would worry about himself more.

Instead, Natsu trilled at him, the sound somehow managing to be enchantingly musical despite the anger and worry in it, and then the sharp beak was tugging at his clothing, trying to pull him down. More to avoid Natsu accidentally catching it with his beak than any real desire to let the idiot worry about him Gray crouched lower, tensing a little when Natsu immediately moved in closer. He was still trilling, but it was softer now. Worried, and almost human for it. There was a rush of warmth around the wound, his ice vanishing and for a wild moment, he thought that Natsu was trying to use his flames to cauterise the injury, a startled shout on the tip of his tongue. But there was no rush of agony if anything the pain seemed to be ebbing away, and as he leant in closer, heart racing in his chest and somewhat disbelieving, he realised that pale droplets of water the colour of amber were running through Natsu’s feathers and dripping onto the wound.

_Tears…?_

He was still trying to make sense of what he was seeing when Natsu pulled back, finally falling silent, blinking beady eyes at him, no trace of the tears to be seen now beyond a damp trail through the brightly coloured feathers. Gray blinked and then looked down at his side, lifting trembling fingers to ghost over where the wound had been before, somehow unsurprised to find smooth skin beneath his fingertips, even as he froze, mouth opening and closing for a moment. “What did you do?” He finally managed to force out, even as it dawned on him that Natsu couldn’t answer even if he did know what he’d done. However, what he wasn’t prepared for was the sight of Natsu hopping away, head tilting to one side and then the other.

“Natsu…?” He asked with a frown, immediately wondering if they were being pursued – and then whether Natsu would still have his advanced senses in this new form – both of which were promptly forgotten as the Phoenix took clumsily to the air, managing to flutter up just high enough to settle on one of the branches. “Natsu? What are you doing? We need to…” Gray had risen to his feet, marvelling at the lack of pain and darted after the bird, and he faltered, mouth going dry as the bird flinched away from him with a frightened noise. The beady eyes that had looked so human seconds before were now wild and empty, and Gray felt his heart twisting itself in knots. But he couldn’t panic now, taking a steadying breath before he spread his hands wide, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible as he moved towards the tree that Natsu had taken refuge in. “Hey, Natsu,” he murmured, falling into the same voice he remembered Ur using on him whenever she’d been trying to call him back from the worst nightmares and memories that had plagued him when she’d first started training him. “Just calm down a little,” he soothed as the Phoenix shifted further along the branch. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

He halted at the base of the tree not daring to get any closer just yet, relieved when the bird stopped moving away, still trilling agitatedly, wings flapping, although he didn’t seem to have any inclination to take off just yet. That might just have been exhaustion though, because even though Natsu was watching him warily, he was visibly drooping, wings hanging low. “Natsu, I know that you’re scared right now.” He almost wanted to laugh at his own words. He was terrified about what was happening, so who knew what Natsu must be feeling. _If he’s even thinking at all,_ Gray thought, and not with the usual fond exasperation that came from chasing after the Dragon-slayer as he rushed headlong into danger or mischief. “But we’re going to find a way to fix this, I promise.”

_I hope._

Dark eyes met his, but there was no sign that Natsu understood what he was saying, and Gray tried hard to bury the terror that they might be too late. He shifted, moving to bring his hands together, intending to use his ice to reach Natsu, but the Phoenix saw the movement and screeched, flapping wildly and nearly falling off the branch in its panic and Gray hastily retreated, not trusting Natsu to be able to catch himself at the moment. “Okay, okay, I’ll give you some space.” The words hurt to say, but as he backed up a step and then another, Natsu started to settle again, although his gaze didn’t waver, the suspicion in them hard to bear. “I’m not going anywhere,” he added, slowly easing himself down so that he was sat facing the tree, making sure to keep his hands where Natsu could see them. “So, when you’re ready let me know.” The bird was tilting its head at him now, but the gaze was still wild and uncomprehending, and Gray worried at the inside of his cheek.

_Come on Natsu, you can’t lose to this…_

**

Gray wasn’t sure how long he’d sat there, barely daring to breathe as he watched as Natsu slowly calmed and began to relax, eventually tucking his head down behind his wing to nap. He had been tempted to try and get to him then, but he had barely had the thought before Natsu’s head had come up and he had trilled a warning, watching him warily for a moment longer before exhaustion had pulled him under again. And so Gray waited, and watched, and prayed that it was the tiredness that had made it easier for the spell to take hold and that when Natsu woke up he would be back to himself. Because he wasn’t sure what either of them was going to do if he wasn’t.

To entertain himself, and to stop the weariness that was beginning to pull at the edges of his thoughts, he started to create an ice statue of the Phoenix on the ground in front of him. It calmed him as he carefully shaped the feathers, eyes continually flicking towards his source material, and then scanning the trees around them, as he hadn’t forgotten that they might be getting pursued. However, so far, he had seen nothing but birds and one mouse that had almost run into him before realising he was there, and darting back into the trees, although he did notice that the wildlife seemed to be giving the tree where Natsu was perched a wide berth. He wasn’t sure what that said about the Phoenix, but he filed it away, knowing that they would need everything they had to find a way to fix this situation, even as he reached out, fingers running over the ice, smoothing the beak to a sharper point.

A sudden motion had him tensing, and then his vision filled with orange and red, as Natsu landed in his lap with a musical cry. The ice statue was a lost cause, as flames flickered behind him, but Gray didn’t care because the eyes that met his gaze were lively, and human once more. Which meant that the fear in their depths was like a punch to the gut, and Gray moved before he’d realised what he was doing, reaching up to scratch behind the crest on Natsu’s head. “It’s okay, you’re going to be okay,” he murmured, revelling in the feeling of Natsu leaning into the touch, it reassured him more than those human eyes ever could. “We just need to get back to the guild, and then we can fix this.” Natsu blinked and trilled at him, the question in it clear to hear. “We will,” Gray said firmly, quashing his doubts and locking them behind an iron wall, knowing that Natsu would see the doubt in his face. It seemed to work, because, after a moment, Natsu nodded, twisting his head to nibble lightly at the finger that had been scratching him, before he took to the air, circling around Gray’s head and calling insistently.

Gray hesitated for a moment, not wanting a repeat of the morning, but time was of the essence and Natsu would be faster than travelling by foot, and if Phoenixes were as desirable as their ‘client’ seemed to believe there was no way he was taking Natsu anywhere near people unless absolutely necessary. “This time, we rest before you wear yourself out completely,” he warned, even as he pushed himself upright, lifting an eyebrow when Natsu squawked defiantly at him. Thankfully, that was an old argument, one that they had countless times over the years, and they didn’t need words for it now. “Otherwise, I’m going to tell Erza that you were touching things that you shouldn’t, and that’s how we got into this mess.” While it was technically accurate, it was still a low blow, as they had both walked into this trap, but as it had the desired effect of Natsu subsiding, he would take what he could get. Although, as Natsu carefully took hold of him again, mindful of his talons, he had a feeling that he would still need to keep an eye on him, as the idiot would probably forget.

This time, he got to appreciate taking to the air much more, as there was no dramatic escape out of the window, and as Natsu let out a loud, triumphant noise as they cleared the top of the canopy, scaring several birds out of the neighbouring trees, Gray couldn’t help but let out a whoop of his own. The situation was a mess. Natsu was slipping. But right now, he was here with Natsu, finally getting to fly with him, rather than watching him fly away from him, and for now, as the world spread out below them, that was enough.


End file.
